Traders’ body seeks lifting of blockade on NH 31A

The construction work at the industrial units had come to a halt as the stock of raw materials like cement, iron, steel and building materials dried up with no fresh consignment arriving here due to the blockade on the highway, he said in a release in Gangtok.

The shortage of raw materials was also affecting the industries sector like pharma, distilleries and tea even as the agricultural produce from the Himalayan state were rotting as the same could not be transported outside due to the blockade, Sarda said.

The tourism industry has been hit hard with no visitor from across the country and abroad coming to the state for sometime now, thus throttling business of hotels, resorts and tour operators, the SCC President said.

Describing the highway as the lifeline of the border state with more than 250 trucks and over 100 passenger vehicles plying to and from Sikkim every day in normal times, Sarda said the highway should be spared from the blockade in the interest of the people and the economy of the state.